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The warnings of the past decade are starting to manifest themselves in new, sometimes unexpected ways and harm people, institutions and economics – that stark warning is the starting point for the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Risks Report.

Business interruption now accounts for a much higher proportion of the overall loss than was the case ten years ago – and that is down to increasing interdependencies between companies, the global supply chain and lean production processes.

The issue of supply chain sustainability might have slipped down the agenda slightly as organisations have faced up to more pressing issues, such as weaker than expected economic growth in China, and political unrest in the Middle East.

Storm Desmond dropped 341mm (or 13 inches) of rain on parts of north west England in just 24 hours over the weekend, overwhelming recently completed defences and flooding thousands of homes and businesses, and making roads and rail lines impassable.

Not so long ago it seemed that the twin developments of online retail and e-books spelled the end for traditional book retailers. But Waterstones has responded to these challenges by strengthening not only its customer experience but also by working with its logistics partner UTL to strengthen its supply chain. No wonder it has become […]

First we had off-shoring – and the we had re-shoring and near-shoring. And we have also had a world financial crisis. Nevertheless, the latest analysis of global trading trends by the World Trade Organisation shows that the average share of exports and imports of goods and commercial services in world GDP has increased from […]

Formula One is often seen as a test bed for developments in the motor industry generally. Normally this refers to developments in technology rather than supply chain. But followers of F1 will be well aware of the supply chain difficulties being experienced by the Red Bull team at the moment.

Engineering and manufacturing have seen big changes over recent years with the emergence of China and India as major players. But the changes ahead promise to be even bigger and will have a significant impact on how supply chains are structured.

For many supply chain professionals, last week was a particularly gruelling one – it certainly was for me. It was also one of the most exciting, because this was the week when the entrants in the European Supply Chain Excellence Awards went eyeball to eyeball with the judges.

Seven out of ten users of logistics services reckon that using third party logistics providers has contributed to overall logistics costs reductions, according to the 20th annual Third Party Logistics Study.

According to IMRG, it was the “Weakest August in 15 years for online retail sales”. In this context, “weakest” is a relative term reflecting the fact that online retail sales grew by only five per cent on August last year.

It’s not just the UK where food retailers are facing tough markets. Walmart’s second quarter results highlight not just the competitive nature of the grocery business in the US, but also how the retailer is focusing on inventory management as part of its response.

When was the last time you saw an automotive component supplier blockading a motor manufacturer? Or angry component supplier executives drenching themselves in brake fluid? I’d be astonished if you said anything other than “Never”.

The issue of supply chain finance came to prominence during the recession as large corporations started to realise that the collapse of key suppliers was a real possibility and could seriously disrupt their business.

High Speed 2, the planned fast rail link from London to various points north, promises to be a massive boost to the economies of the places where it stops – in fact the government has adopted the title: “HS2 – Engine for Growth”.

You could almost hear the sigh of relief among financial analysts last month when they saw Tesco’s first quarter results – there was clear evidence that the decline in like-for-like sales was being turned around.

Some 36 per cent of senior managers in retailers and manufacturers reckon their organisations have too much cash tied up in inventory – and 29 per cent think they have too much excess and/or obsolete inventory.

Most of the focus of emissions legislation for commercial vehicles has been on pollutants such as NOx and particulates. For example, last year saw the introduction of Euro 6 legislation in Europe – the latest in a series of steps to cut these pollutants.

Royal Mail’s share price rose after Whistl revealed that it was abandoning its end-to-end service. However, the move was less pleasing for the regulator, Ofcom, which has now launched a “fundamental review of the regulation of Royal Mail”.

“I want us to stop talking about digital and physical retail as if they’re two separate things. The customer doesn’t think of it that way, and we can’t either. Customers just want us to solve their everyday problems with an easy, seamless shopping experience.”

Can robots pick single items efficiently? It’s an important question for e-tailers that need to pick a range of disparate items to fulfil an order. So it’s no surprise that Amazon put up $20,000 as first prize in a competition to find the best robot.

Discussion of supply chain risk tends to focus on problems with suppliers, or wars and natural disasters, but the biggest issue for supply chain strategies in the UK at the moment is likely to be the government’s efforts to renegotiate British membership of the European Union.

For many years, it’s been axiomatic for third party logistics providers that the best place to recruit new customers is from the own account sector – those retailers and manufacturers that have historically chosen to handle their logistics in-house.

If you live in Switzerland, congratulations – you are officially one of the happiest people in the world. At least that is one of the conclusions of the World Happiness Report, published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Negotiators from the European Union and United States government are meeting in New York this week to hammer out the terms of a new free trade agreement – it’s the ninth round of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

To the outsider, the healthcare sector is characterised by the critical nature of so much of the activity. Getting the right drugs and equipment to the right place at the right time can mean life or death.